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Keep getting your payments

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Payment will stop if you don't file your tax return

To keep getting your Canada child benefit (CCB) and related provincial and territorial payments, you must file your tax return on time every year. If you have a spouse or common-law partner, they also have to file their tax return on time every year.

You must file your tax return even if your income is tax exempt or you have no income.

If you don't file your tax return every year, your payments will stop.

Your CCB payment is not taxable. This means that you will not receive a slip, and you don't have to report it on your tax return.

Find out if you can get your taxes done for free

If you have a modest income and a simple tax situation, volunteers at a free tax clinic may be able to complete your tax return for you.

Payment stopped or changed

Find out why your payment may have stopped or changed:

  • Payment stopped

    Your payment may have stopped because:

    • you didn't file your tax return
    • you didn't respond to a letter from the CRA about your situation
    • you didn't inform the CRA of a change in:
      • your address
      • your bank account
    • you were married, divorced or had another change in your marital status
    • your income is now too high (recalculation happens every July, based on your income from the previous year, indexed to inflation)
    • your child turned 18
    • you no longer have a child in your care
    • you stopped meeting any of the eligibility criteria, including residency and citizenship requirements
    • You, your spouse or common-law partner are missing a statement of world income

    Make sure to tell the CRA if your situation changes.

  • Payment changed

    Your payment may have changed for the following reasons:

    • your family net income changed (we recalculate payments every July, based on income from the previous year, indexed to inflation)
    • your marital status changed
    • the number of children in your care changed
    • your child turned 6
    • one of your children turned 18
    • one of your children is no longer in your care
    • your custody arrangement changed

    Consult your benefit notice in My Account for details of your calculation.

  • Repayment of an overpayment

    If a recalculation shows that we paid you too much CCB, the CRA will send you a notice with a remittance voucher attached to inform you of the balance owing.

    The CRA may keep all or a portion of future CCB payments, income tax refunds, or goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credits until your balance owing is repaid. This may also apply to other federal, provincial, and territorial programs that the CRA administers.

    If you received a repayment notice, go to Payments to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Situation changes

If your situation changes, let the CRA know as soon as possible. Your payments may stop if you don't inform the CRA.

Personal information changes

  • Address change

    You need to tell the CRA your new address if you move.

    Your benefit and credit payments may stop if you do not. This is the case even if you use direct deposit and your bank account does not change.

    Change your address

  • Marital status change

    You must tell the CRA if your marital status changes to make sure you get the correct payments.

    Change your marital status

  • Start direct deposit or change bank account

    If you are changing bank accounts, don't close your old account until your first payment is deposited in your new account.

    It can take up to a month for payments to show up in your new bank account.

    Your benefit and credit payments can be deposited directly into your bank account.

    If we cannot deposit a payment into your account, we will mail you a cheque.

    Start or change direct deposit
  • Residency status change

    If you or your spouse or common-law partner’s residency status has changed, contact the CRA.

    If your non-resident spouse or common-law partner immigrates to Canada, he or she must provide all of the following information in writing immediately:

    • social insurance number
    • date of birth
    • address
    • immigration date
    • statement of income
  • Notice shows outdated personal information

    Your child benefits notice shows the amount of your annual payment. It also shows the information we used to calculate it. If any of your personal information has changed or is different from what your notice shows, then you need to contact the CRA so we can recalculate your payment amounts.

    If you need to update your personal information, you can:

  • Leaving an abusive or violent situation

    Get benefit and credit payments without putting yourself, or your family, in danger. For more information, go to Getting benefits and credits when in an abusive or violent situation.

  • Reporting a death

    Let the CRA know if any of the following situations apply:

    The Canada child benefit recipient has died

    If the benefit recipient has died, the next of kin or the estate must tell the CRA as soon as possible. Someone else may be eligible to get the benefits for the child.

    If you are the surviving spouse or common-law partner of the former recipient, in most cases you won't have to fill out a new CCB application. The child will be transferred automatically to your account.

    We may still send a payment after the date of death if we are not aware of the death. If this happens, return the payment to your tax centre with a brief letter of explanation.

    You are the benefit recipient and your spouse or common-law partner has died

    If you receive benefit payments for a child and your spouse or common-law partner has died, contact us to tell us his or her date of death. We will recalculate your payments to adjust your revised family net income.

    You are the new primary caregiver

    If anyone other than the parent is now primarily responsible for the child (such as a grandparent or guardian), that person will have to apply for benefit payments for the child in one of these ways:

Child and custody changes

  • Shared custody

    Go to Custody arrangements and your payments to find out if your situation qualifies as shared custody.

  • Temporary custody change

    Changes in custody can sometimes be temporary. This can happen, for example, if the child usually lives with one individual, but goes to live with another individual for the summer.

    In these cases, the individual that gets custody on a temporary basis can apply to get payments for that period. When the child returns to live with the other individual, they need to re-apply to start getting the payments again.

  • Child starts to live with you

    You need to apply for the CCB when a child starts to live with you.

    You can use My Account or complete Form RC66, Canada Child Benefits Application.

  • Child is no longer in your care

    You must tell the CRA right away if you are getting benefit or credit payments for a child who is no longer in your care, stops living with you, or dies. This will avoid overpayments and requests to pay back some of your benefits.

    Your entitlement to benefit payments stops the month after the child is no longer in your care.

    If you are receiving the GST/HST credit for a child who moves out, becomes a spouse or common-law partner or a parent, you must also let us know.

    You can let the CRA know in one of the following ways:

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